This invention relates to cooling of disc brakes, and in particular to the cooling of disc brakes for wheeled ground vehicles, which use hydraulic brakes such as mountain buses and high speed racing vehicles, without using special cooling equipment such as cooling fins or radiators.
In the past, cooling of brake fluid in various kinds of vehicles has been accomplished by adding cooling equipment, in particular radiators and/or cooling fins. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,410 to Bryant, U.S. Pat. No. 2,821,273 to Sanford et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,091 to Scibbe, U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,963 to Deane et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,242 to Pogorzelski et al. and British Patent No. 775,052. In particular, as a representative example, note FIGS. 11-13 of the Bryant patent and their corresponding description beginning at the end of column 8. A low pressure, low efficiency, centrifuge type pump circulates brake fluid in a circular path through a caliper in a fluid path which includes a radiator or cooling fins if not both. I have determined that such external cooling equipment as a radiator or fins is not needed when my invention is employed.
An object of the present invention is to eliminate external cooling equipment such as radiators and fins for cooling hydraulic-operated disc brakes especially in high speed racing cars and other vehicles such as tourist buses which must operate in mountainous terrain.
This object is accomplished by utilizing a sealed cooling system employing a piston pump which produces a very rapid flow of brake fluid through the brake lines and calipers constantly during non-braking of a vehicle. After braking, the constant rapid flow of the fluid ultimately cools the temperature of the fluid over the course of the circular motion through the system, thereby preventing boiling of the brake fluid, without the need of external cooling equipment such as a radiator or fins.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the embodiments of the invention following this brief description of the drawing.